Tamyra Mensah-Stock made history at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics!
On Tuesday (August 3), the 28-year-old wrestler became the first ever U.S. Black woman to win Olympic gold in the sport of wrestling, and is also only the second woman ever to win gold.
In the women’s freestyle 68kg wrestling final, Mensah-Stock defeated Nigerian wrestler Blessing Oborududu in a hard fought match. The final score tallied up to 4-1.
Despite the loss, Oborududu walked away from the games with a groundbreaking achievement as well. She became the first Nigerian to win an Olympic medal in wrestling. According to Premium Times, the Nigerian government awarded both her and long jump athlete Ese Brume cash rewards for the medals they earned.
In an emotional interview after the match, Mensah-Stock draped herself in an American flag as she spoke about her win. She reflected on her journey from becoming a wrestler in the tenth grade to becoming an Olympic gold medalist. “I knew I could do it when I first started wrestling. I felt that I could be an Olympic champ, so I kept going — I did it,” she tearfully said.
When asked about her trailblazing achievements, she excitedly cheered and jumped up and down. On what it means for the future of wrestling and for young girls watching, she said, “It means that they see someone like themselves on that podium — someone like Helen Maroulis (U.S. wrestler) — on that podium showing them just because you’re a female, it doesn’t mean you can’t accomplish the BIGGEST of goals.”
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